‘If we don’t do it, who will?’ Women are banding together for climate action
Women Leaders17.03.2025
It was during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) in 2015 that Catherine McKenna first looked around and noticed something unique.
“There were a bunch of women there, and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, this is pretty amazing,’” she said. New to her role at the time as Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, she was used to being one of few women at the leadership table when it came to discussing climate action.
But that day, she realized that women were leading the negotiations.
“They were all really pushing hard on the issues, and I don’t think we would have got as ambitious an agreement without them,” she explained.
McKenna says that while she noted the strong female presence in the room, it wouldn’t be until 2021 that she was able to take the next step in uniting some of those voices.
That year, at COP 26 in Scotland, McKenna officially launched Women Leading on Climate (WLOC), a global coalition of women leaders, spanning government, business, and civil society dedicated to climate action.
Through its global network and country chapters, WLOC is doing just that by setting out annual climate goals and agendas while simultaneously giving women a platform to collaborate, strategize, and push for real, measurable change at a time when climate issues are getting sidelined on the global stage.
And now, that fight is coming home, with the latest chapter of WLOC launching last month in Canada.
“I think it will take the discipline of women to be able to act and continue to push it because otherwise, it will start to drop off the agenda, as we’ve seen,” she said. “If we don’t do this, I don’t know who will.”
Taking the lead on climate
Right now, the organization is working to finalize its 2025 global agenda because, as McKenna admits, it’s been a challenge with so much in flux on the geopolitical front.
“It’s difficult because we’re trying to fight the climate crisis, but we’re also trying to fight discrimination and several other large global issues,” she said. “But we will continue to fight; at the boardroom tables, negotiating tables, in the cabinet rooms, in the classrooms, on the streets, in the communities… we’ll just keep fighting.”
In Canada, one of the main focuses for the group is proposing practical changes to make a difference, including the lack of climate expertise on corporate boards.
“There should be a requirement that you have someone who has climate expertise on your board,” explained McKenna. “We have binders full of women with that experience. And when you have women on boards or in your C-suite, you are more likely to even disclose your emissions to start with.”
They are also hosting discussions with Indigenous women to learn about protecting nature and about how governments and industry can better work with Indigenous communities across the country to their mutual benefit.
At the same time, the WLOC is shining a light on the kinds of green policies whose implementation could help attract large investments to Canada, an area where McKenna says the country is falling behind.
At the heart of the group, however, is recognizing the momentous role women have to play when it comes to climate action.
According to WLOC, women are 2.5 times more likely to demand that their government take action on climate change and are twice as likely to engage civically on the issue, and McKenna’s group is working to make sure they have a strong network of support behind them.
“Solidarity is really important. We definitely need to support women that are in leadership positions,” she said. “Every woman should feel like, if they’re the only person at the table, there’s someone at another table, somewhere else, that’s also speaking up.”
